SOLANA BEACH  A citizens initiative easing restrictions on private parties and alcohol at the Fletcher Cove Community Center hit the spot with city voters, passing with 52 percent of the vote Tuesday.

Proposition B received 1,720 yes votes compared to 1,593 no votes, with all precincts counted, according to unofficial election results released just after 11 p.m. by the county Registrar of Voter’s Office. The special election had only two items up for a vote — the Solana Beach measure and the runoff in the San Diego mayoral race.

For months, the Fletcher Cove initiative had sharply divided residents in the small seaside town, with the City Council and neighbors of the community center on one side of the debate and some longtime Solana Beach residents on the other.

Mary Jane Boyd, a resident who helped put Prop. B on the ballot, said late Tuesday she was “overjoyed” with the election results.

“We are so delighted and I hope that the City Council gets the message loud and clear,” said Boyd, who hosted a party for Prop. B supporters in her home.

Several opponents of the measure — including Councilman David Zito — could not be reached for comment after the final results were released.

Prop B will replace rules established by the City Council last year limiting the number of parties at the center to one every other weekend, with no more than 50 guests and no more than two glasses of beer or wine per person.

Calling those rules too restrictive — and arguing the picturesque venue should be open to the community that paid for it — a citizens group crafted Prop. B. The measure will allow up to two parties each weekend, with no explicit limit on beer and wine except what’s already written into California law.

Perched on a bluff overlooking one of the city’s most popular beaches, the center has spectacular views of the ocean. It has about 1,000 square feet of indoor space, large windows, glass doors and outdoor picnic tables.

The council for years resisted calls to make the center available for private parties, until approving the new rules in August after plans for the initiative were gaining traction.

Solana Beach resident Carole Brummage said earlier Tuesday that she voted against Prop. B because she believed that the rules approved by the City Council were a good compromise.

She said she believed a small group of residents had forced the special election on the council.

“The City Council did try to compromise with these people,” Brummage said. “They said let’s take some baby steps and we can gradually arrive at a good solution.”

Those who supported the measure said the City Council has put the interests of wealthy neighbors who live near the site above the rest of the community who want to be able to enjoy the center.

“They did not listen to us,” said former Solana Beach Mayor Celine Olson, who had urged the council to allow greater access to the center.

Jen Astl, who was walking her dog near the center Tuesday afternoon, said she had received several campaign mailers and had received a visit from one of the supporters. But she said she still had not made up her mind about how to vote and questioned whether it was necessary to spend so much money on a special election to decide a party policy.

“Why are we spending $200,000 on an election for a building that is not big enough to house a small family?” she asked.

The center was originally an old army barracks that was moved from Vista to Solana Beach in the 1940s. Private parties were allowed for years but were stopped in the 1990s.

The building fell into disrepair years ago and a private/public fundraising campaign was launched to pay for a total renovation, with residents raising the bulk of the money.

After the project was completed in 2011, debate began over how the venue could be used.

Residents who live near the center they were concerned that parties would get out of control and disrupt the surrounding neighborhood with excessive noise, drinking and parking problems.

Others said those fears were aimed at reducing the use of the facility.

Olson said those who supported Prop B were labeled by opponents as “party people,” when in reality most of them are seniors.

“Nobody in this group is a big drinker,” Olson said.

In the months leading up to the special election, supporters of the ballot measure outspent those who oppose it, about $54,000 to $14,000 – not including the $25,000 supporters spent to qualify the measure for the ballot.